Here's the rub:

Wealthier Americans, buoyed by a stock market that keeps setting records, have continued to spend freely.

All your market wealth isn't spendable until you sell. Yes, you pay taxes, but you always retain the ability to buy back in if you desire. Things are not different this time - they never are. While I'm going to attempt to hold out until the end of the year, I am resigning myself to imitating Warren Buffet (with his over-size cash position) afterwards, with the intention of picking up bargains after a dive.

While the specific timing of the market is difficult, the probability of a massive unwrapping (cause not yet defined) gets higher every day. While employment is challenged, the ever-growing burden of tariffs (not to mention the recently announced bump in China's) on US purchasers in clearly inflationary.

The "pop" may take time in coming, but fortunately, I can afford to wait.

Jeff